Immortalized
by Lexithanius
Summary: Two (mostly) normal men are pulled into a set of extraordinary circumstances. Down with the Volturi! AU. OC Slash.
1. Impact

I'll try and keep this short and sweet. First time writing fanfic, so be as harsh/critical as you can. This sort of has a slow start, but I've got big plans in store.

Another thing: If, at any point in the story, it seems as if I'm borrowing elements from Alicorn's _Luminosity_, it's because I probably am (character personalites, mainly). As such, give credit where credit is due, and if you haven't read _Luminosity _yet, do yourself a favor and do so (amazing story).

Enjoy!

* * *

_I've never considered myself a particularly ambitious person. I never wanted fame, fortune, or attention. All I've ever wanted was to live. Not to excel, overcome, or prosper. But to live. I just wanted to live._

* * *

Rain has been comforting to me for as long as I can remember. No matter the season, temperature, or time of day, rain just seems to make the day _better_. I can't say that my family feels the same, however, as they had planned this vacation to Florida in an attempt to escape the sporadic weather patterns of our home state, Ohio. It made the fact that we'd spent the last 3 days down here under constant gray skies pretty hilarious. Nonetheless, we'd managed to make a good time out of sight-seeing, landmark-visiting, and people-watching.

Plus, I'd convinced my boyfriend, Isaac, to tag along. That was really all I needed to come on board for this trip.

Isaac is 5'10" and about 150 lbs., with a physique that never ceases to amaze me. Everything about his figure just screamed, "Athlete!" Male pattern baldness, which has run rampant in his family for generations, took its toll on him during his late teens. As such, he's sported a shaved head for the last few years, and is all the better for it. It allowed whoever was in his presence to focus on his eyes, which are a deep, rich blue. Put simply, the man was gorgeous. Personal bias be damned.

At 6'0", I had him beat by 2 inches, but we were at about the same weight. I have dark brown hair, brown eyes, brown everything, really. It is to be expected when one is of biracial heritage, though. I've got a light tan skin tone, with a slender and slightly toned build. My hair becomes too much to manage when given any length, so I typically opt for a plain buzzed cut. In fact, that's exactly the word I'd use to describe my self: plain. Just a plain guy who lucked out and came across a remarkable man.

Back home, we live in a modest 2-bedroom apartment, and both work at a nearby grocery store. And by "nearby", I mean a block down the street. Obviously, the distance between home and work has been very convenient. Going from the bed to the time clock takes, on average, no more than 15 minutes. I was a part-time student in college, also, which made the weekdays quite busy. Outside of work and school, we mainly stayed home, being the like-minded shut-ins that we were. Video games, movies, sex, food, loud music. Pretty standard fare for a couple of homebodies. We'd made a habit of saving as much of our earnings as we could, and had acquired a decently sized bundle of savings over the last two and a half years. We'd taken small but steady strides towards building a solid future, and were rewarded with an enjoyable, peaceful life from day-to-day. It wasn't necessarily exciting, but it was ours. It was safe.

* * *

Towards the end our third day in the sunny state of Florida, we decided to stop at a grocery store near the hotel we were staying at for various odds and ends. But I wasn't interested in "odds and ends". I was craving a bag of roasted, salted, overpriced almonds. With this dominating my thoughts, I broke rank with the rest of my family and headed over to the snack food aisle. I skimmed over boxes of crackers, bags of potato chips, and beef jerky before finally reaching the nuts. I grabbed two bags of almonds, and just as I was about to return to the rest of my group, I got a strange feeling: that sense that someone is behind me. I turned around and, sure enough, there was someone standing no more than ten feet away, staring daggers at me.

Now, I'm not entirely sure what this implies about my character, but the first thing I was aware of was that this man was beautiful.

And when I say "beautiful", I mean unearthly so. He had mid-length, curly, light brown hair, with an eye color that can only be described as "golden". I took a split second to debate with myself as to whether or not they were contacts, but ultimately decided that it wasn't particularly important. What stood out the most about him is how _perfect_ all of his features were. From where I was standing, his face, nose, ears, chin, eyes, and everything else was angled perfectly and devoid of any and all blemishes.

The man looked positively statuesque. A perfectly sculpted statue, brought to life by some otherworldly magic.

It's a shame that his facial features were twisted into this picture of pure rage-all directed at me, it seems. His ridiculously good looks did nothing to detract from the fact that I felt very threatened by his glaring. He was looking at me as if I'd killed his mother. I couldn't seem to find the strength to move away from him, and I'm quite certain that if I did, he'd match me step for step. I managed, after what seemed like several minutes of me shrinking underneath his gaze, to speak in an attempt to dissuade the situation.

"H-hey, man. Is there a problem?" I stammered out as best I can.

His expression did change: he went from angered to straight up annoyed. As if my speaking had somehow broken his concentration. Still, I considered it an improvement. Perhaps more words would help?

"Seriously, if I bumped into you or something, I'm sorry. I was just looking for some almonds," I held up one of the bags, hoping that small talk would have an effect, "and I admit that I was in a bit of a rush, so-"

He snarled.

This guy just _snarled_ at me.

I was silent once again, thoroughly convinced that my "more words equals less angry" hypothesis was wrong. This entire situation was incredibly odd, and I was getting pretty annoyed, myself. Who was this man to walk up to me and give me attitude without giving nary a peep in the way of an explanation? Who the hell did he think he is?

"Found you, Jasper!" chimed a small, high voice from behind him. A woman appeared from behind "Jasper" and quite literally danced to his side. She was very short, standing at maybe an even 5', and shared Jasper's level of beauty: same golden eyes, same perfect features, same flawless movements. "Now can you _please _come on, already? Bella's attracting a lot of attention, so we really shouldn't stay any longer."

At this, he seemed to genuinely calm down. He didn't smile or express joy, or anything of the sort. He simply relaxed his posture, loosened his expression, and softened his eyes a bit. He did not take them off me, though. The tiny woman next to him noticed this and started tugging at the sleeve of his shirt, while wearing a mixed expression of worry and confusion. I'd surmised by now that the two of them were a couple. Just these last 30 seconds of interaction between the two of them made that fact obvious.

"Ay, Chris!" I heard Isaac call from further down the aisle behind me. He'd caught up to me, with the rest of the family waiting up front.

Two things happened at once: the tiny woman on Jasper's arm gasped, her expression changing from slight worry to full-on panic, and Jasper snarled _again_, louder than before-this time at Isaac, who was standing mere feet behind me.

Now, I like to think of myself as a peaceful, logical man of reason. One that doesn't pop off at the slightest thing, and is willing to use words to resolve a conflict. However, one scenario that is guaranteed to send me over the proverbial edge every time is when Isaac is threatened, harassed, accosted, or snarled at in my presence. I'd already tried words with this man, and those were brushed off pretty quickly. I decided to end this ridiculous in the simplest way possible. Handing my almonds to Isaac, I closed the distance between Jasper and I in 3 steps, brought my right fist back, and snapped it forward with as much force as I could muster.

There was a dull _crack_, and I was on the ground.

* * *

I blanked out for the next few seconds, and found myself sitting Indian-style on the ground when I came to. The rest of my family had made their way over to the four of us, and there was yelling coming from both sides. My attention was directed at Jasper.

Actually, that's a lie. I was mainly focusing on the fact that my goddamned hand was broken, and I was in a considerable amount of pain. Tears filled my eyes and clouded my vision, but I was surprised to find that I didn't have the urge to cry out or scream. Shattered bones aside, there was something that kept my eyes glued to the man I'd just unsuccessfully tried to knock flat. He looked no worse for wear, and yet here I was, with a broken hand. Had I missed something? Did he happen to have a steel plate underneath his skin, located exactly where my fist had landed? No, that couldn't be it. A surgical procedure like that would have left a noticeable scar.

What was it, then? Why was my hand broken, with Jasper left unaffected-much less visibly _hurt_-by my swing?

While my thoughts waged war with one another, someone scooped me off of the floor. Isaac. After placing me on my feet, he helped me to the store's exit. I didn't necessarily need help walking, but I appreciated it, nonetheless. We drove here separately from my parents and younger brother, and he had explained to them that he'd take me to the nearest hospital. The would meet with us there later.

I still found it very odd that I wasn't doubled-over on the ground, clutching my now baseball glove-sized hand, screaming in pain. The pain was absolutely there, but it didn't seem to affect me as much as it should. I was downright calm, in fact. Before walking out the door, I looked back at the clustered mess of people behind me. The small woman who I assumed was Jasper's girlfriend stood in the middle of it all, no doubt trying to calm the situation with an explanation that seemed plausible, because what had _actually_ happened didn't make one bit of sense. Jasper still stood in the same spot, not having moved an inch since I first laid eyes on him. I imagine the entire scene looked rather ridiculous from an innocent bystander's perspective. It was still raining when we stepped outside, and I was thankful for small favors.

Almost immediately after pulling out of the parking lot, I noticed that the pain in my hand was getting worse. Whatever defense-mechanism my body had activated to dull the pain seemed to have worn off, and I was now feeling it in its entirety. I started squirming in my seat, and had to bite my lip Isaac noticed this and all but sped to the hospital.

* * *

The hospital visit went as I'd expected. I was fussed at doctors and nurses for fighting, first and foremost. There was no compound fracture, so I'd only need a cast. I was fussed at by Isaac, who kept asking every few minutes if there was anything that I needed. I didn't _need_ anything at the moment, but I was starting to wish I'd bought those almonds before taking a swing at the man of steel. I was fussed at by my parents, who had arrived about an hour after we did. They both scolded me for trying to fight someone, and coddled me because I would forever and always be their "little boy". My brother stood off in a corner, giving me a sympathetic look. He'd sprained his ankle two years prior, and knew exactly what I was going through at the moment.

All things considered, it went quite smoothly.

What I hadn't been expecting, however, was a visit from Jasper's girlfriend while I was filling out my release forms (left-handed, so I could still write just fine). We'd promised to meet with the rest of our family back at the hotel later that day, as we'd hoped to have a few moments to ourselves to talk. Having her with us might help clear some confusion. She made a beeline for us right as she entered the waiting room, grabbing a pen from the receptionist's desk. The girl didn't look any older than 17, but had an air of maturity and grace about her.

"Chris, Isaac! Glad I caught you two!" She trilled.

I stood up, met her halfway, and offered her my non-broken hand. "Nice to meet you, Ms..." I trailed off, realizing how odd it was that she knew both off our names, yet we didn't know hers.

"Cullen. Alice Cullen," she said, introducing herself and finishing my sentence for me. She was grinning from ear to ear for some reason. Given what had happened earlier today, it should have been unsettling. But Alice was damned adorable, and her smile was quite contagious. "Now, I imagine you boys have some questions. I'll be happy to answer them all, but first thing's first: Mind if I sign your cast, Chris?"

I blinked, completely caught off guard by the request. "Um...sure. Go right ahead," I replied.

Impossibly, her smile grew even bigger. She popped the cap off her pen, and went to work with her message. I glanced over at Isaac, expecting to see something along the lines of "Get well soon!3" when I turned back to my cast.

Isaac's reaction to our exchange was priceless. He was trying to stifle a fit of laughter, but he was also staring at Alice in wonderment. This resulted in his face being beet red, with his eyes bulging in Alice's direction. I don't think he noticed, but I mouthed the words "I love you" in his direction before turning back.

Alice had finished writing her message, upside-down, and eagerly shoved it in my face for me to read.

"_Don't let a broken hand get you down. You're going to live forever!"_


	2. Q & A

At first, I tried to laugh it off, hoping against hope that Alice was just being playfully optimistic. But I knew, in the back of my mind, that this message had a different meaning besides wishing me a speedy recovery. I did my best not to let the nervousness show on my face, and pasted on a big smile for her.

"That's really nice of you, Alice. Thanks, but I don't think immortality is quite within my grasp," I chuckled, trying to get the point across to her. Silently begging her not to say whatever she'd planned to say next. _Please, don't drop this on me here, now. Please don't __drag me into some religious __cult nonsense. Please, please, PLE-_

No such luck.

"On the contrary, it absolutely is!" said Alice, leaving my pleas ignored. And then she paused, scrunching her face in confusion for a brief moment. Then she started once more, "Alright, I think it'd be best if I just told you everything at once, and then you can ask questions as they come to you. Sound good?"

I was beyond nerve-wracked at this point, but it would have made absolutely no sense to stop her now. Although I'd been unsuccessful, I had _tried_ to knock out her boyfriend. I sort of owed it to her to hear her out. More importantly, I was still very curious as to what it all meant. Why had I broken my hand on Jasper's face? Why did he and Alice seem so ungodly perfect? Why did Alice speak as if she owned a time machine? I nodded my head, giving her my consent.

Alice grinned. "Great! So first off, I'm a vampire. My entire family is, in fact. Well, except for one, but she will be very soon. I can also see the future; specifically, I see the two of you as vampires in the near future, hence why I followed you here. Can't have my new brothers wandering off!"

I decided then that I must be going crazy. It wasn't because I was in utter disbelief of what Alice had said. It was because I found that there _was_ some merit to her words, and I was able to rationalize bits and pieces of it. The indescribable beauty, the precise and graceful movements, the incredibly tough skin. In hindsight, it made a fair amount of sense for all of these characteristics to belong to a supernatural entity. And if there was a possibility of them actually being vampires, I suppose I shouldn't rule out the chance of one of them being able to predict the future. But it was still impossible. Completely and utterly impossible.

Alice had been waiting patiently for a reply from me, but it was Isaac who broke the silence between us.

"Vampires, huh? So are the fangs retractable, or what?"

* * *

According to Alice, vampires didn't have fangs. Simply one of the many myths associated with their race. "Our bodies go through a lot of changes during...well, the change. However, nothing, is physically _added_ on over the course of the transformation," she supplied.

"You _do_ drink blood though, right?" Isaac asked. While I was trying to remember how to form words, he had decided to take over and ask the questions for the time being. I can't imagine how awkwardly this exchange would have turned out if he hadn't been here.

"We certainly do. But our family feeds on animals only," she answered, adding the second sentence to, I assume, rid of us any concerns we might have regarding our immediate safety, "so you've got nothing to worry about around us."

"What about sleeping in coffins?" Isaac continued.

"No coffins. We don't sleep at all, in fact."

"Didn't think so. What about garlic, crucifixes, running water?"

"All myths. Garlic tastes just as bad as all human food does to us, crosses are...crosses, and we're actually great swimmers. We don't need to breath, so it's possible for us to spend long periods of time underwater. Even sunlight isn't harmful to us. Well, not directly, at least. Plus, my family and I live in a small, rainy town in Washington, so sun exposure isn't really an issue."

Isaac smiled, enthralled by what he was hearing. "I won't lie, Alice. That all sounds pretty badass. Tell me, how do y-"

I decided to ask my own question then, having finally come out of my semi-dazed state. "Wait, wait, wait. How did _this _happen, then?" I held up my wrapped hand, making it obvious what I was asking about. I wanted to know why my attempt at harming Jasper ended up having the reverse effect.

"Oh yeah, that," Alice said, looking at me apologetically. "I'm _really_ sorry about that, by the way. I needed to let it happen, so that I'd have a reason to find and talk you both about all of this. As for _why_ your broke your hand, well...see for yourself."

She held her hand out flat, palm-upward, inviting me to feel. I grabbed it and placed two fingers in the middle of her palm. The first thing that I noticed was how cold she felt, as if she'd been standing out in a blizzard for the last few hours. It also occurred to me how _unyielding_ her skin was. I pressed down on her palm with my fingers, and got no response. Literally, no elasticity, no movement, no _give_ to my applied pressure. I decided to try something else and grabbed one of her fingers, intending to bend it inward toward her wrist. Not even her pinkie finger would budge, even when I started exerting a fair amount of force on it.

"Alice, you're not even trying to fight me, are you?" I asked, wondering if human strength really was _this_ ineffectual to her kind.

"Afraid not," she answered. "On that note, trying to stake one of us wouldn't prove very effective."

Well, that's one mystery solved. I'd basically rammed my fist into a boulder back at the grocery store. But I still had one more question that needed answering: Why did she see us, at some point in the "relatively near" future, as immortal? Did us being turned into vampires somehow serve a greater purpose?

"So tell me, Alice," I began, afraid of the answer that I'd get, but still quite curious. "Is there any specific reason _why_ you need us to be turned?"

She made another face, same as before when she dropped the "I'm a vampire/future-seer/magician" bomb on Isaac and I. This did not bode well _at all_.

"Yes, there is, and a pretty big one at that. Put simply, the two of you are going to help us bring down the Volturi."

_I swear on my life, if this woman says that the "Volturi" is some kind of goddamn demon..._

* * *

The Volturi were, for all intents and purposes, the governing body of the vampire subculture. But saying that they "maintained order" would be a pretty gross exaggeration. As far as laws were concerned, they only had one to speak of: to keep the existence of vampires a secret. Any human that found out that vampires were real had two options. They could either be turned, or be turned into food. The Volturi feared that modern weapons and technology could potentially be a threat to them as a race. Alice went on to explain that, despite their normally lax enforcement policy outside of their one main law, they had committed questionable and cruel acts in the past. They were also not above using lies, deception, and even force if it was necessary to get something that they wanted. If asked, most vampires wouldn't mind their removal.

When she'd finished her explanation, Isaac had another question ready. "What you said has me thinking, Alice. How _do_ you kill a vampire?"

"Well, the most common method is tearing one to pieces, and then burning them," she said. "Otherwise, the pieces will gradually reassemble themselves over time. Limbs can be reattached immediately by using our venom as an adhesive. Even after being decapitated, the body will-of it's own accord-make its way to the head to reattach it. Y'know, come to think of it, completely destroying the head would be a pretty safe bet."

Isaac went on. "And have you ever been..._broken_ like that before?"

Alice cringed a bit at that word, which lead me to believe that she had a few painful memories associated with it. "No, not me personally. But," she said, pausing to fidget in her seat for a few seconds, "Jasper struggled at first with adjusting to the animal blood diet. He'd get a bit too excited in public places, and we would have to drag him off somewhere secluded quickly. If he resisted, we...shut him down for a while."

I took a moment to visualize an enraged Jasper being pulled into a wooded area by his family, and having all of his limbs pulled off to prevent movement. Given what had happened earlier today, with him further into his more human-friendly lifestyle, I wouldn't put that kind of behavior past him. But my heart went out to Alice, because seeing the one she loved be hurt repeatedly could _not_ have been easy for her.

"Alright, one more question from me, Alice. How does the turning process work?" I questioned. I wanted to know what one needed to do, how long it would take, and whether or not it would be painful. I was still partly in disbelief that I was even entertaining the thought, as if knowing _that_ would be the deciding factor.

She frowned. "Sorry, but all I can give you is information that I've been told. I really don't even remember my own transformation, and haven't seen one with my own eyes. It starts by simply getting venom into the bloodstream. Most common way is through a bite, but the method isn't what matters. For example, if you had a cut on your hand and I licked or spat into it, you would turn. What's important is that the heart must still be beating, so that it can circulate the venom throughout the body."

There was yet another pause, like the ones before, until Alice finally continued. "Once again, I don't know about this myself, but my father is a doctor and has told me these things. He says the change takes an average of three days, and it is _extremely_ painful. You basically feel as if your whole body is on fire during the process."

_Not_ what I'd wanted to hear.

"Um...can I ask you about your gift, Alice?" Isaac's curiosity was piqued once more, and he launched right into a new question. "You said you can see the future, right? How does _that_ work?"

This caused her to brighten up considerably, as if she'd been given the green light to gloat about her precognition. "When I focus on something or someone, I can see where they'll be in the future. As for how far into the future I can see, it's never consistent. In some cases it's a few hours in advance; in others, my vision won't occur until years later on down the road. For people, it's based on the decisions that they make, so an indecisive person's future will change quite rapidly. When I first met you guys at the store, I looked and saw the two of you in place of the Volturi. So, I followed you here, as opposed to waiting until later. If what's going to happen is _that_ momentous, then I really couldn't afford to wait until you'd gone back to Ohio, leaving me with no wa-"

"Wait a second," I interrupted, "How do you know we came from Ohio. I don't recall bringing it up."

"I peeked at your parents' futures. Wanted to make sure that we wouldn't have to turn them, too. I saw both at home. Alive and mortal, mind you."

_Well_, _there's that to be thankful for. Mortal parents __tend__ to be a good thing._

"And what happens if we refuse, Alice? This is a shit ton of information to take in, and you're pretty much asking us to throw away the lives that we've built up to this point. What if we say that we don't want to become v-...vampires?" I wanted hear her tell me something that would convince me. Surely, if she'd bothered coming here to see us, she'd have a good explanation as to _why_ we'd want to be changed. The Volturi had never affected me or my family, and I hadn't even heard of their existence until about 10 minutes ago. Why _should_ I agree to becoming a vampire, and live for the rest of eternity while everyone else I care about-barring Isaac-withers away?

She considered this for moment. "Well, I'd like to think I'd understand if you did say no. Obviously, I'm aware that this is a lot to take in. Plus, it's not like this is some ancient prophecy that you _must_ fulfill, so it wouldn't be the end of the world if you _did_ say no. My vision shows you choosing to go through with this, so that's just what I'm planning for. But let me ask you this: Would there be a problem with living forever? Would there be a problem with having all the time in the world to do whatever you pleased, and never having to worry about getting old or sick?" I noticed her raising her voice slightly during the questions.

That _was_ a good point, all things considered. I know I didn't particularly like the idea of growing old and dying. The fact that we, as living beings, _had_ to accept death as an eventuality gave the whole cycle of life and death an oppressive feeling. I didn't consider myself a very religious person, so the concept of some entity whispering in my ear "_I know you love living and __having conscious thoughts__ and doing things, but it's time for that to end __now__. Why? Because I said so."_ didn't sit well with me.

No. Living was definitely a good thing; dying, bad.

* * *

It had gotten quite late in the day, and Alice made to the decision to leave soon after I'd asked my last question. We exchanged contact information, and she told us that she'd get a hold of us at a later date. She knew that I was skeptical about the whole situation, so she kept a professional tone when saying goodbye to me. Isaac, however, had fallen in love with her and opted for a full-fledged hug. As uncomfortable as I was, I couldn't fight the laughter when Alice managed to lift him almost an entire foot off the ground. Thankfully, the waiting room was all but deserted, so the unusual display of strength went unnoticed.

We parted ways at the exit, and Isaac drove us back to the hotel. I wanted to talk to him, to ask him how he felt about what we'd heard. Did he believe it? Did it sound _appealing_ to him? I wanted to hear his thoughts, but I was simply too exhausted. Too mentally and physically worn out for any more conversation. Isaac wouldn't try to force it, either, and I loved him for it. I loved that he just understood that, despite the circumstances, I didn't have the will to talk about any of it.

When we arrived back at the hotel, the fatigue hit me even harder. I had mere minutes before I'd be out cold. We'd wait until tomorrow to touch base with my family. After taking the elevator up, we headed to our room, and opened the door. I headed straight for the bed, and noticed something placed neatly at the end of it.

It was a wicker basket, filled to the brim with bags of almonds.

_Fuck_.


	3. Decisions

Our remaining four days in Florida went by without incident. We hadn't planned on participating in any physically strenuous activities, so my injury wasn't a hindrance. This turned out to be a good thing, as I couldn't bring myself to focus on anything that didn't involve vampires, immortality, or both.

What I found weird was that I seemed to _want_ Alice to contact me as soon as possible. Whenever Isaac and I had some downtime at the hotel, I found myself sitting in front of my laptop, staring at my e-mail inbox, clicking "refresh" every 10 seconds. I was convinced that reloading the page would make a difference, despite me knowing very well that I'd get a _ping!_ when a new message had arrived. I'd rather it just happen already, as opposed to simply waiting around, not knowing when I'd next hear from her. But did that mean I'd already made a decision about being turned?

My indecisiveness was getting out of hand, so on our last day in Florida I resorted to two tried and true methods of decision-making: lists and talking. I would make a list of the positives and negatives of vampirism (based on the information that I received from Alice several days ago), and talk to Isaac about what he'd like to do. Now, which one would I do first?

The list. _Definitely_ the list first. Isaac's opinion was likely to sway me more than anything else, so I would save the talking for last.

I kept the list as a simple, two-column affair: One side for the pros of immortality, and another for the cons. When all was said and done, I ended up with this:

_**Vampire?**_

**_Pros_**

-More life. Living is good, right?

-Lots of perks to being a vampire. Super strength? Speed? Heightened Senses? Cool stuff.

-You can travel the world. Broaden your horizons and such.

-More time with Isaac. I mean, It IS pretty serious between us. And hey, if things don't work out, we'd have the rest of eternity to see other people.

-You'll save a fortune on food, toiletries, and water (did vamps need to bathe?).

**_Cons_**

-You go on living while the rest of your family and friends die.

-Insatiable lust for blood. Human blood (the Cullens should help keep me on the straight-and-narrow with their animal blood diet, but it's still a concern). Will Isaac and I even be able to _see_ our parents again?

-People that you know will _definitely_ notice that something has changed with you. Jasper and Alice stick out like sore thumbs in public.

-We'd have to be nomads. Staying in one place for too long would attract attention.

-...No more almonds?

-Sun can't hurt us _directly_, but Alice still mentioned it being wise to avoid it. No more sunrises? Being out in public on a sunny day?

-Probably can't return to work in the foreseeable future.

* * *

At a glance, the cons seemed to outweigh the pros by quite a bit. Giving up everything we'd ever known for a future that, despite being very tempting, would be taking an extremely huge leap. My mind wasn't any closer to being made up, so I decided to quit stalling and consult Isaac. While I'd been fretting over lists and an eternity without almonds, he had been busy packing up all of his belongings. He now sat at the end of the bed, fiddling with his phone. I started packing my things while we talked.

"So, I've noticed you haven't really said anything about what Alice told us," I said.

He looked at me and shrugged. "I mean, it seemed to bother you quite a bit, so I figured I'd wait until you were ready to talk about it."

I had to smile at that. I couldn't _not_ smile at it, and considering the conversation we were about to have, it seemed hilariously inappropriate. "Thanks, babe, but I'm afraid that time has come. What are your thoughts on it all?"

"Well, I think it was pretty obvious that I was liking Alice a lot, but I'd be lying if I said that her whole 'vampire' rant wasn't a little weird. Cool, but still weird. It'd awesome if it was all true, though."

That was the answer I'd been expecting, but it was still shocking hearing that Isaac was essentially unfazed by everything we'd been told. It made me even more afraid of the answer I'd get from my next question. I stalled a bit, focusing instead on cramming all of my almonds into what little space I had left in my suitcase (no way in hell was I leaving them behind). "And, um...do you think you'd want to go through with it?"

Isaac considered this for a good while, closing his eyes and remaining silent for almost a full minute. Truth be told, I was surprised he'd been able to make a decision that quickly.

"Yes. Assuming she wasn't lying to us, I think I'd like to do it."

"Seriously?" I asked. "You'd want to be a vampire? What about your mom?"

"Yeah, Chris, I think I would. And other than my mom, you know that I don't really have any close relatives. Besides, you saw Alice. It's possible to be like her and still act like a normal person around others."

What he was said was true. I had no idea how _long_ she'd been a vampire, but Alice had made a point of being very friendly (something you wouldn't expect from a creature that, by design, feeds on the blood of your species). It gave me hope that, one day, we'd be able to see our families and friends again. We'd be able to lead normal lives, for the most part. There was still the issue of _how_ we'd go about explaining it to our loved ones. They _would_ notice that something was up, and trying to handwave our way out of the truth would not work.

_Hey, mom. Thanks again for hosting Thanksgiving dinner at your house. It's good to see everyone. Oh, by the way, Isaac and I threw away our humanity and became vampires a few months back. Hope that's ok._

Yeah, I was not looking forward to that at all.

"Whatever you decide, I'll follow you," Isaac said, snapping me out of my train if thought. The statement sounded simple enough, but it was the _meaning_ behind it that caught my attention. Isaac was willing to, if I chose to do it, throw away his mortality and follow me into the unknown. I suddenly felt exhausted, so I walked over to Isaac and fell into his arms. I'd finish packing when it was time to check out.

* * *

_Ping!_

It was odd. For the last 4 days, I'd spent every waking moment listening for that noise. And when I finally heard it, I was caught completely by surprise.

We were gathering our bags together, about to head out the door. I was reaching to close my laptop when the _ping!_ went off, and I figured that kind of impeccable timing had to belong to Alice. After calling Isaac over, I opened the message entitled "_Before you guys leave!_" and read:

_Hey, guys!_

_Hope I caught you guys before you checked out of the hotel. Just wanted to give you guys some last-minute info on my family, as well as the situation._

_First off, I would have contacted you sooner, but we had a few complications over here in Forks. I'll give you the quick version:_

_My brother Edward fell in love with a human girl named Bella. They got married and Bella wound up getting pregnant during the honeymoon. We came with her to Florida to visit her mother (she wanted to tie up loose ends in case things...went south), and that's when we met you. Now, a vampire/human hybrid baby grows _much_ more quickly in the womb than a human does. This did a number on her body over the course of the pregnancy, and we ended up having to turn her to keep her alive after she gave birth._

_She finished just over an hour ago, so I thought that now would be as good a time as any to drop you guys a line._

_Let's see...what else?_

_My father, Carlisle, is a doctor (mentioned it before, but here it is again). He's the oldest one out of us all, and turned his wife, Esme, and Edward._

_Esme, my mother, is from Ohio (like you guys!). She's literally the sweetest person you'll ever meet, and I'm not exaggerating. Like, at all._

_You've already met my husband, Jasper. Wanted to apologize for the "incident", by the way. He was the newest "vegetarian" in our family at the time, and I think your blood just really set him off (they refer to people with _really_ good-smelling blood as "singers"). He also has a power, like me, in that he can affect people's emotions when near them. You might have noticed yourself being unnaturally calm after breaking your hand?_

_Edward can read minds, and is now a proud parent (never seen him this happy)._

_My sister, Rosalie, is...difficult to get along with, to say the least. She's gorgeous, even by our standards. Thought I'd let you know now, so you're not caught off guard._

_Her mate and my older brother, Emmett, is amazing. He's built like a fortress, and yet he's _still_ one of the easiest to get along with. I can tell that you two will like him._

_That wraps up the Cullen family. We'd love it if you two chose to join us. On that note, do you think you've reached a decision? If the answer is no, we can still keep in touch. No pressure at all._

_But if it's yes, I'll message you again when everything has settled down (we've got 2 newborns in the house, so it's far from peaceful right now)._

_Hope to hear from you guys again soon!_

_A.C._

_P.S.: You're going to fall in love with this kid when you see her. She's amazing._

I turned to Isaac when I finished reading. I saw that smile on his lips, and that's when I knew. We could keep the families we had now, _and_ become part of a new one. We could be vampires, and still be capable of compassion, civilized behavior and rational thought.

He noticed my staring, and asked a completely unnecessary question. "We're going, aren't we?"

"Of course we are, babe."

* * *

_Alice (and the rest of the Cullens),_

_We're in._

_Can't wait to meet everyone,_

_Chris and Isaac_


	4. The Crucible

Nearly a month passed before we received word from Alice to, I assume, make our way to their home in Forks, Washington. Neither myself nor Isaac really complained. Although we'd sign on to become vampires, weren't in any particular _rush_ to become ones. Still, we knew that our time as humans was limited, so we did the one thing we feared losing the chance to do most: We spent time with our families. Shopping trips, movie nights, dinners, everything we could to soak in their presence. We laughed a little harder than usual, stayed over a little longer, and hugged a little tighter when it was time to leave. We continued like this for several weeks after returning to Ohio, waiting for the go-ahead.

It came to us much later in the day than we'd anticipated. Just after midnight, in fact (I suppose that could be considered "earlier" in the day...). This time, Alice sent a text message as opposed to an e-mail.

_Booked a flight for you guys. Plane leaves at 5. Pack light. I'll pick you guys up at the airport in Seattle. It'll be raining._

We'd prepared for this day since we got back. Practicing how fast we could pack everything we deemed "essential". But Alice had just given us explicit orders not to bring heavy luggage, so we simply stuffed several changes of clothes and a cell-phone charger into our own separate backpacks. Isaac pocketed one of our apartment keys, and left the second one underneath the welcome mat outside of the front door. A security risk, yes, but our neighbors could be trusted. Plus, getting robbed wasn't high up on our list of concerns at the moment. We had no way of knowing when we'd be coming back here, and if a family member came by looking for us...

My arm was still not quite fully-functional, so Isaac drove us to the airport. After parking our car in the storage lot, we headed to the ticket counter.

The attendant, a perky-looking young brunette, at the desk looked up at smiled. "You guys are Isaac Turner and Christian Michaels, right?"

"Um...yes, actually," Isaac answered. "We were told that a flight to Seattle had been booked for us?"

"Yep! Here you go," the attendant lady said, handing us each out tickets. "Flight boards in 30. Have a good one!"

And with that, we were sent on our way, only a little nonplussed at what had just transpired.

I glanced at my ticket, and just about bit off my tongue. "First goddamn class?!"

Isaac burst out laughing, but caught himself when he saw the stare that he was getting from me. "I wondered when you were going to notice that. Hell, if Alice keeps throwing around her money like this, I may not wanna go home."

We arrived at our terminal and picked two seats that were well out of the way. There were only four other people at the gate when we got there, but we didn't want to risk being overheard.

"Well, looks like I won't need to register for classes next semester," I said, only partly serious. If we really were going to live forever, then we'd have just as long to gather all the knowledge in the world.

"We should travel. You know, once we can go out without 'Augh! Blood!' dominating our thoughts. Let's go to all the places we've ever even _thought_ about going to," Isaac suggested. I swear the man could read my mind. It made nervous about meeting Alice's brother, Edward.

"Sounds good, babe. We'll race each other across the globe."

After that exchange, we sat in silence until we were given the green light to board the plane. We ended up by ourselves up front, something that I assume Alice had arranged on purpose. There was surprisingly little to say between the two of us, so we settled in and got comfortable. We had a six hour flight ahead of us. This was Isaac's first time flying, so he observed the take-off from the window. When the novelty of watching things grow smaller and smaller wore off, he rested his head on my shoulder. I put mine back against the headrest of my seat, and we both slept for what was likely the last time.

* * *

As we were told, Alice was waiting in the terminal when we got off the plane. I knew that we were short on time, but I asked her if we could stop for breakfast. With the time zone change, it was just after 9 AM. She obliged, apparently understanding that we'd like to taste human food one last time before committing to an eternity of blood. We came across a diner in the airport that served maple almond pancakes, and ate there. Alice sat with us, waiting patiently.

She drove us through Seattle in what had to be the nicest car I'd seen in months. It was a glossy silver number, with windows tinted almost jet black. The thing was dead silent on the road, but I didn't dare ask to turn on the radio. Now seemed like a time to reflect, so I grabbed Isaac's hand and did some reflecting.

What had me worried most was the actual _change_. _On fire for about three days_. It certainly didn't sound pleasant, but I was certain that it was worse than that. I was about to consult Alice about the process, but she beat me to the punch.

"Look, I know that you guys are nervous about what's about to happen. You've got every reason to be, in fact. But you'll be fine once it's over and done with. More than fine, even," she said.

This did nothing to calm my nerves. I'm not sure if it was on purpose, but she kept referring to "on the other side" and "when it's over". There was still the three days of pain that, it seemed, could _not_ be described as anything other than "horrible" and "unbearable". I appreciated Alice's intention (she didn't want us getting worked up over something that, in the grand scheme of things, would only last a moment), but I wanted to know what it was _like_.

Gradually, the landscape around us changed from concrete and metal to lush, green forestry. Tall trees were bunched together on both sides of the area that the road passed through, the rain making the leaves shimmer. I assumed we were crossing over into the town of Forks, and would soon arrive at the Cullen's home. Rolling down the window (the sun was covered by clouds, so it wouldn't be a problem for Alice), I enjoyed the scenery.

The air was very clean. It's too bad I wouldn't need to breath soon.

We arrived about ten minutes later. The house was enormous, with a porch that wrapped around the outside in its entirety. It had an off-white color that gave it an air of antiquity, and I could tell that it had been through several renovations.

"So, where is everyone?" Isaac jokingly asked. "I was expecting them to roll out the red carpet."

"They're inside. They just finished getting a room ready for you guys," Alice replied. She seemed in a more somber mood than Isaac, which I found odd.

No, that wasn't it. It wasn't that Alice seemed bummed out, it was that Isaac _didn't_. How did he do it? How could he bear to make a joke (a bad one at that) at a time like this? Did he not realize that we were about to endure what was in all likelihood the most painful thing we'd ever experience? Whatever it was, I envied him.

After entering the house, I noticed immediately that the wall opposite of the front door was made entirely of glass. The thick forest viewable on the other side of it was beautiful. I next noticed the rest of Alice's family, the Cullens, standing around in the living, all eyes glued to Isaac and I. One of the vampires, a young blond that was dressed semi-formally, stepped forward to shake my hand. Even with him holding back, it was an extremely firm handshake. At _best_, he looked to be in his mid twenties, but he was probably at a younger physical age than that. How anyone could believe that he was the father of people in their late teens was beyond me. His eyes were a darker shade of gold than Alice's.

"Christian, it really is a pleasure. My name is Carlisle," he said, his voice full of compassion. He knew what we were about to do, and was intent on making us as comfortable as possible. "I'd like to personally welcome you to our home. I can't tell you how much I respect what you're doing."

"I'm beyond grateful, Carlisle. Thank you, really. And please, call me Chris."

Carlisle smiled and went to introduce himself to Isaac. I next met his wife, Esme. She skipped the handshake and went straight for the hug, taking me by surprise. She embodied the word "maternal". Her hair was a very particular color: light brown, with a reddish tinge here and there. Quite shorter than her husband, Esme was a bit plump, adding further to the warm, motherly archetype. Even with their differing features, she was extremely beautiful, like Alice. Her eyes were the same bright gold as Alice's.

There were several things I wanted to do. I wanted to ask what the eye colors meant, and what a darker shade indicated. More than that, I wanted to meet the rest of his family. I saw Jasper, next to whom Alice had gone to stand, underneath the threshold that lead into the kitchen. He didn't smile, but it was clear that he was going to length not to appear antagonistic towards us. There were two others, a man shorter and thinner than Jasper with wavy light brown hair, and a woman with hair of the same color standing next to him. I noticed that the woman had bright red eyes as opposed to the gold of everyone else.

Before I could ask any questions or meet more of the Cullens, Carlisle interjected. He told us that it would probably be best if we were turned as soon as possible, as that would give us more time to prepare. I chose then to start panicking. I didn't want to do this. What could be worth it? What could be worth _that_ kind of pain?

Isaac took my hand, and I stopped thinking for a few seconds. I just looked at him, the smile on his face, the lack of worry or fear in his expression. And, just like that, I was calm. I turned towards Carlisle, and he directed us upstairs into a room that was, for the most part, empty. The only pieces of furniture were two cots, with a nightstand between them. On the nightstand was a digital clock.

"Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find a way to dull the pain of the change, so you'll be experiencing it in its full capacity," Carlisle informed us. "We'd tried anesthetizing Bella, but it didn't have the desired effect. She felt everything, and the anesthesia simply prevented her from moving."

The news was unfortunate, but it changed nothing. I hadn't even considered any sort of way to subvert the pain. I was expecting fire, and that's what I would get. However, my heart did go out to whichever of the vampires downstairs was Bella, as she had experienced an entirely different kind of hell.

The two of us changed out of our clothes and into simple outfits of sweat pants and t-shirts. We were told that wearing something roomy was a good idea (both during the transformation and afterward). Once that was done, we assumed our positions on each of the cots, and I grabbed Isaac's hand once more. Carlisle opened a small case and pulled out two syringes that were filled with a dull silver liquid. The venom. Starting with Isaac, He administered it to both us, each in our joined arms. There was a warmth growing where our hands met.

When we pulled away from one another, the warmth was still there.

* * *

It started subtly at first. The warmth I had felt between our two hands remained after we'd separated, and steadily grew by degrees. It was like holding my hand under the tap, waiting for the water to get hot. Only when it _did_ get hot, I wasn't able to move my hand from under the stream. And still, it grew hotter, spreading farther along my arm as it did.

My arm started waving around on reflex, instinctively trying to jerk itself away from the growing heat source. The burning was coming from inside, though, and no amount of waving was going to shake it off.

I started to panic once it reached a "stove-top" level. Most people have, at some point early in their life, gotten too close to a burning stove top or clothes iron. They felt that sharp flash of pain in the tip of their finger, cried, and ran off to their parents. But there was no escaping _this_ burning, and my parents were on the other side of the country. And it _still_ grew hotter.

Against my will, a yell escaped my throat. The burn continued to grow in intensity, and I started rolling my entire body around in the cot, getting progressively more desperate to escape it. I knew that there was no way to escape it (Carlisle _had_ warned me, after all), but there was no way I was just going to lay still and take _this_. Someone had thrown me into an open flame and left me to burn. My focus was directed at squirming as much as possible, and I was sure by now that my skin and clothes has been seared away. Nothing could survive this fire.

And yet, the burn only continued to grow stronger and stronger as time passed.

How much time actually _had _passed? Two days? One? Twelve hours, at least. It felt as it I'd been burning for years. There was something about the fire that I noticed. Something that I was able to actually _focus_ on besides the pain. Stagnation.

It had stagnated, at least for the time being. The pain that I _was_ being subjected to was no less unbearable, but the thought did create a minuscule spot of hope way in the back of my mind. Perhaps this was the worst of it, and I just needed to suffer through this for the next day or so.

I decided to try and take a look at the clock to my left, pausing to check up on Isaac along the way. Moving my head so much as a centimeter caused a renewed explosion of fire, halting my progress significantly. I took my time, inching my head over, taking a few moments to scream whenever a new wave of pain would rush over me. Finally, Isaac came into view. He had fallen off of his cot, and was now laying on the floor, curled up into what appeared to be an extremely uncomfortable position. Other than that, he was silent, and I couldn't see his face to make out his expression. I kept my head where it was, angled my eyes toward to clock, and checked to see how long we'd been suffering.

Nine minutes had passed since Carlisle administered the venom.

* * *

Some time after looking at the clock (I wasn't sure _how_ long after, nor did I care any longer), I came to the conclusion that I couldn't go on like this. I simply couldn't take it any more. _Nothing_ was worth burning alive for this long. Not my parents, not taking down the Volturi, not even Isaac. This needed to end. Now.

There was no way to reverse the process once it started, so I took to begging each of the Cullens to come in the room and kill me. Jasper could do it. He could come in, snap my neck, and then drink his fill. "Jasper...J-Jas...per!"

As expected, trying to speak brought new flames, so I kept silent after calling for Jasper, hoping he'd oblige.

He didn't come, but the brown-haired Cullen I saw downstairs did. Appearing by my side, he leans in close to my ear. For a split second, I hoped that his breathing would provide a cool rush of wind in my direction. It did nothing in the way of relief, even though he _was_ clearly breathing into the side of my face.

"Chris," he addressed me, his voice firm but empathetic, "I know what you're thinking, and I understand why you'd want that. However, I'm here to tell you that the transformation is already well underway. Your skin is already hardening, and your blood is being replaced by venom. As of now, you are no longer appealing to us."

I assumed that this one was Edward, then. He "knew what I was thinking", despite me not having outright said it. Taking his words as a good sign, I hoped that it meant we were nearing the end.

"Also," Edward continued, a bit sterner than before, "I do _not_ appreciate you trying to take advantage of my brother's weaknesses. Very soon you're going to feel a burning in your throat, much like what you're feeling throughout your entire body right now. Only _this_ burn will stay with you. Forever. I think that once you experience it for yourself, you'll understand him a little better."

After thoroughly drilling me on my underhanded, selfish tactics, he left. I was plunged into the fires of Hell once more.

That's how it continued for what seemed like an eternity. Just the flames cooking my body, and me literally unable to do anything about it.

_pleasepleasepleasepleaseplea sepleasePLEASEKILLM-_

* * *

The minuscule spot of hope that had earlier planted itself in my head grew. Over the course of the seven eternities that I burned, that tiny space in the back of my mind expanded, allowing me more room to think. The changes to my body and senses were becoming more apparent with each passing second, which themselves seemed longer than they previously were.

In exchange, the fire grew even _stronger_. Or rather, it started to pull itself inward, gathering closer and closer to my heart and leaving my toes and fingertips numb from the sudden absence of pain (it seemed like that was all they'd ever known). My heart began pounding at a downright obnoxious speed, so I knew that I was entering the home stretch of the change.

I was hearing an even louder thumping from Isaac's side of the room, but I couldn't be bothered to open my eyes and check on him. This new, more concentrated pain had me glued in place. Even opening my eyes would be overwhelming.

The fire inside me drew even closer to my heart, now present only in my chest. Suddenly, there was a _bang!_ that literally made the room shake, and Isaac's side went completely silent. He was finished. That meant that I couldn't be far behind.

As if on cue, my heart beat faster than I ever thought possible, ramming itself against my sternum and launching me off of my cot. In midair, there was a split second, a loud percussive _bang!, _and a white hot flash of unmanageable pain (the worst I'd felt thus far by a long shot). And then the pain, the torture, the burning, was gone. I landed on my feet, and stood up instantly. My balance, my movements, were perfect and faultless. I would never so much as stumble again.

"Chris? Baby?" a perfect voice called from behind me. It was _too_ perfect, too even, too melodious to belong to a human. It really happened. We were immortal now.

I spun around, took in the room around me for a fraction of a second, and instantly zoned in on Isaac.

I was staring into the face of God.


	5. Welcome To The Family

_Perfection_.

The word kept repeating itself in my head as I observed everything around me in amazement. The detail! The clarity! The definition! Everything that my eyes glossed over on their way to Isaac was like a separate work of art. The interwoven fibers of the cots we'd been laying on mere seconds ago, the particles of dust in the air, the filament and supply wires of the single light bulb hanging overhead. It took me about a quarter of a second to view all of these things, and I noticed that my perception of time had changed _drastically_. I took in _more_ things in _less_ time, so it wasn't that things were moving any faster of slower than they had before. I'd jumped out of my cot no more than four seconds ago.

And then Isaac came into view, and I breathed for the first time since turning (I didn't need to, but it allowed to me to examine the air through taste and smell; less imperative, but no less essential). He was completely and utterly flawless. His skin, while noticeably paler, was radiant. The musculature in his arms and chest was even more pronounced now than it has been while he was human. I took a moment to mourn his blue eyes (eyes that I, unfortunately, would never see again), but the bright red color they now sported was appealing in its own way. My own new eyes took in ever inch of him with adoration and reverence. Judging from the curve of his lips and contours of his face, he was looking at me the same way.

"Isaac, y-"

I started to speak, and was immediately floored by the sound of my own voice. It was mesmerizing. Like I was singing, even though I clearly wasn't. This was sensory overload on a level I never thought possible. It was all I could do to stay focused on one thing at a time. To that end, I dropped what I was going to say, and swept Isaac into my arms. Surprisingly, he didn't feel any differently now than he had before. I'd expected to feel the hard, unyielding stone that I'd felt when touching Alice's hand, but his skin was as soft to me now as it had been when he was human. He was no colder, and the difference in weight was small enough to be negligible (I was quite certain that I could lift a bus without much difficulty, so supporting his weight was nothing to me). Aside from the differences in physical appearance, he was the same Isaac I'd always known.

"You look amazing," Isaac whispered to me. His voice sounded even more beautiful than mine. I could stand here for years, just like this, listening to him say words. But there was something else I wanted to do first. And with that, I pressed my lips to his.

It was like kissing him for the first time all over again. I took my time, exploring his face with my right hand and supporting his weight with my left. We were both made of stone, and yet our lips gave against each other.

In this moment, I realized that my feelings for Isaac had grown significantly. I'd known I'd loved him while human, but that feeling had progressed into a need. I _needed_ him, and even attempting to imagine going on for the rest of eternity without him was painful. A result of the transformation, I'm sure. Not necessarily a bad thing (spending forever with Isaac hadn't sounded bad even _before_ I'd turned), but it was a bit unnerving to know that emotions ruled my thoughts so profoundly now.

Both my reflection on the matter as well as my rediscovering of Isaac were interrupted by a sound from the doorway. I placed Isaac back on the ground, and turned to see that the Cullen family-our family, now-had gathered in the room to see us.

Alice stepped forward first and loudly exclaimed, "The two of you look so _cute_! Welcome to the family!"

* * *

We spent the next few minutes getting more formally acquainted with the rest of the Cullens, starting with Emmett who was, as Alice had said, enormous. If I could lift a bus, he could probably move this entire house with no problem. He had dark, short curls and was almost perpetually smiling. Despite his massive bulk, he was constantly telling jokes, and was easily the most laid-back person in the family. Alice was right; we weregoing to get along with him great.

Standing next to him was his wife (I preferred spousal terms over the word "mate"), Rosalie. To say that she was simply "beautiful" would be the equivalent of calling her hideous. She was an absolute goddess, with long, silk-straight blonde hair and an elegant form. Rosalie was the tallest of the Cullen women. In regards to greeting us, she didn't say much other than a polite "hello". She didn't seem dismissive, just not particularly interested.

I'd already met Edward (albeit under less-than-favorable conditions), so I allowed him and Isaac to exchange greetings while I met his wife.

Isabella, or Bella as she liked to be called, was a "newborn" vampire like the two of us. She had the same red eyes as us, although hers seemed to be tinged with a bit on amber. Her beauty was on par with Alice and Esme's, and neither of us considered it an insult that she didn't quite stack up to Rosalie (no one did). I could tell almost immediately that Bella had both an old soul and a kind heart. She was extremely wise, given that she was turned at the age of 18, and had nothing but good things to say about Isaac and I. Once we'd finished with pleasantries, I glanced down and noticed the child that was clinging to Bella's leg.

I was transfixed on her the moment our eyes met. She was the most adorable child I'd ever seen. It was obvious right away that she was Edward and Bella's daughter. So, she was a human/vampire hybrid. Judging from her features, it made sense. Her hair was the color of her mother's, while still having the curly-wavy grade of her father's. Her eyes were a simple brown, and for the most part, she looked human. She had pale skin like everyone else, but it was flushed with blood in places. Not so much so that it could be considered suspect out in public, but it was certainly an attention-grabber. She stared at me, wearing a polite smile, and then finally spoke.

"Hello, Chris. It's nice to finally meet you," she said in a clear, articulate voice. The girl had me absolutely mesmerized. She looked no older than four or five years, and was speaking with the eloquence of an adult.

And that's when I did the math. According to Alice's e-mail we'd received last month, this girl was born only a few days after we first met Jasper. Yet her she was, standing in front of me, looking as if she was already a toddler. Did this have something to do with her unique heritage? Had there ever been a hybrid like her before? How long before she reached old age and...?

Stealing a glance at Bella, I could tell that this was a prime concern of hers. She looked at her daughter with a mixture of both adoration and fear. Our eyes locked, she composed herself, and addressed her child.

"Renesmee, love, would you like to show Chris your gift?" she asked.

"Of course. Do you mind, Chris?" Renesmee replied, reaching out with one of her hands. I did not object, so she placed it on my cheek.

* * *

Suddenly, I'm looking at someone lying down on a metal gurney. A woman. She looks like she's injured pretty badly, made evident from all of the blood that she's covered in.

She's holding me? This doesn't make any sense.

"Renesmee. So...beautiful," the woman said, which allowed me to make the connection. This is Bella that I'm staring at, still human, having just given birth to her daughter. _And I'm reliving the entire scene from Renesmee's perspective_.

Soon after, I was being carried away by Rosalie, watching Bella's battered body grow still. I saw Edward taking over, holding a syringe exactly like the ones that Carlisle had used on us. And then I was brought back to reality. I was once again staring into Renesmee's eyes, completely dumbfounded. By initiating physical contact, she can share dreams, thoughts, and memories with another person.

"That is quite a gift, sweetheart," I whispered. Clasping her hands in between mine, I continued. "You're a very special girl, Renesmee, and I'm honored to become a part of your family."

The next thing I knew, her arms were around my neck, and I was in love. This girl was so unbelievably precious. Alice had hit the nail on the head in her description.

I decided to let Isaac meet Renesmee, while I approached Carlisle. I was already well acquainted with Jasper and Alice. Besides, there was an apparently pressing matter that I wanted to address with him. Why had we been rushed into our transformations? What could be so important?

"Carlisle," I said, having left Isaac to be amazed by Renesmee, "tell me all about the Volturi. What are we up against? I want to know everything."

* * *

We had already been informed on the basics (rulers of the supernatural world, one main rule, liberal use of the death penalty), so Carlisle instead told me about the members that comprised the coven.

There were three vampires in particular that called the shots. Aro, the unofficial leader of the Volturi, had the ability to read minds. It differed from Edward's power in that, while Edward could only read a person's _current_ thoughts within a certain range, Aro could read every thought that someone has ever had. The downside to Aro's power is that he must be making physical contact with said person in order to read them.

Caius, while also one of the three rulings vampires, had no special abilities to speak of. His ruthlessness was still noteworthy, however, and would be something we'd need to be wary of if going to war with the Volturi.

And then there was Marcus. He had the power to sense relationships, which manifest themselves as visible "cords" to him. This struck a nerve with me; he would be able to see the connection between Isaac and I immediately, and exploit it. I would _not_ let that happen. It was finally within my power to protect the people important to me, and I was going to do it.

The three of them were all around 3000 years old, with Caius being the oldest by about a century. Aro and Cauis had wives, Sulpicia and Athenadora, respectively. They led sheltered, uneventful lives, rarely leaving the Volturi's compound because they lacked any combat prowess. Marcus' wife, Didyme, was killed centuries ago by a hostile coven, and Marcus became reclusive and depressed as a result. Didyme was Aro's biological sister, making him Marcus' brother by marriage.

Their power and reputation, however, came from their guard. Aro had spent thousands of years scouring the globe for gifted vampires. If he ever came across someone that had a formidable or useful ability, he would do everything in his power to "collect" them and add them to his ranks. He would not settle for less, and sported the most formidable fighting force in the entire supernatural world as a result.

Notable members included Jane, who could make you feel excruciating pain simply by focusing on you. Then there was her brother, Alec, who's power was on the opposite end of the spectrum. He could completely shut down someone's senses, rendering them immobile and helpless. Their sight, hearing, smell, touch. Hell, their sense of _being_. Being under his power was comparable to being dead.

Another member, Demetri, was the designated tracker of the Volturi. In fact, tracking was his gift. If he's met someone before, he can find them, regardless of where they try to hide. There was also Felix, who was, without a doubt, the most physically powerful vampire known to our kind. The two of them were often paired together on missions.

Lastly, there was Chelsea. She seemed to be the most problematic, as she had the ability change and influence relationships to suit the Volturi's needs. She maintains unity and order within the coven, making their teamwork flawless. If one of us were to come across her alone (with no one to break the focus of her power), we would be made to join the Volturi. Or, at the very least, cut off from our ties to the rest of the Cullens.

Other guard members did exist, but these were the ones to worry about. The ones that could do us the most harm.

I chose now to interrupt Carlisle. "How do you know all of this, Carlisle? Were you a part of the Volturi yourself?"

"Oh, no. Not at all," he answered. "I had stayed with them as a guest soon after I was turned back in the 1600's. Aro welcomed me with open arms, and we grew to be friends in the time that I was in Italy. We are quite close. Or rather, we _were._"

"And what made that change?" I pressed. If we were expected to bring these guys down, I needed the whole story.

Carlisle hesitated for a moment, and then continued. "It's not that I don't consider him a friend any longer. But I simply can't ignore the things he's done-the things he's _been_ doing. Manipulating and destroying entire covens just to acquire one gifted vampire-he's sort of a collector in that regard. Falsely accusing people of crimes they didn't commit. It's immoral, and it _cannot_ continue."

Isaac had finished meeting Renesmee, and came to my side. I grabbed his hand on reflex, as I'd always done when I was nervous. Expanded mental capacity aside, this was a lot to take in. The Volturi did not sound like a pleasant bunch at all, but their overwhelming military strength was an effective deterrent (Jane and Alec alone made the task of bringing them down seem impossible). And yet, they couldn't be allowed to continue.

"One last question: What was so urgent about us being turned? Why so soon?" I inquired.

Alice answered this one. "Because we're expecting a visit from the Volturi in about two weeks."

Shit.

"Well, goddamn..."

"Don't worry," Alice reassured me, "it's only a 'check-up', really. They're sending a small group down to make sure that Bella has been changed. They first met her while she was still human, and having humans in on our secret is a no-no."

"Who all from the Volturi is coming?" Isaac asked, knowing that Alice would probably be able to see _who_ from the coven would be meeting us. It was only the third time I'd heard him speak since he'd turned, and his voice had me absolutely gobsmacked.

"Let me think...I see Aro and his personal bodyguard Renata, Felix, Demetri, Afton, and two other lower-ranking guard members. A small group, like I said."

Only seven? Right away, I started running through scenarios in my head. If Isaac and I were destined to take the place of the Volturi, then it was up to us to decide when to strike first. Would we be ready in just two weeks? Regardless of the answer, I made plans, and I noticed that, without including Renesmee...

We outnumbered the expected group by three.


	6. Crawl

We needed to feed. Badly. Once we had finished getting info on the Volturi, the tickle in my throat made its presence known. What had at first been only a minor annoyance suddenly reached a fever pitch of burning. It was as if that part of my body was still on fire, not quite finished going through the transformation. I already knew exactly what would put this fire out, and it dominated my thoughts. The thirst was always going to be like this, wasn't it? Whenever we went too long without blood, our throats would be immersed in the fires of Hell.

The Cullens took notice of our suffering, and arranged for a group to take us hunting. The last thing we wanted to do was come across humans (we'd both agreed to commit to a "vegetarian" lifestyle), so Edward would be coming with us. He would be able to read the minds of anyone in the vicinity, and warn us if we got too close.

However, there was still the possibility of a strong gust of wind blowing a camper's scent in our direction, regardless of how far away from us they were. In preparation of this, Emmett, Jasper, and Bella were also going to tag along. They would restrain us if we lost self-control. Being newborns, Isaac and I were both stronger than normal vampires. Our human blood would remain in our bodies for several months, giving us more strength and speed than we normally would have. That being said, I doubted that we could overpower three well-trained vampires _and _another newborn. Bella had been a vampire for over a month now, and had already proven to have a decent amount of self-control. Alice didn't foresee us having any issues, but we took no risks. It was a nice bit of reassurance to know that the four of them were coming.

Our group decided to travel to the Olympic Range later that night. Edward drove us most of the way, and then we continued on foot once the paved roads ended.

Running had never felt so amazing. I was traveling at an absurd speed, making the greenery of the forest zoom past my field of vision. There was no blur, however, and I still could make out the most insignificant detail on the most obscure leaf from the smallest tree. My new and improved vision didn't miss a single thing. Even at night, everything was perfectly visible. The act of running took no effort at all, and didn't fatigue me in the slightest. I could keep running laps around the Olympic border, without changing my pace, until the world ended. Glancing over at Isaac, I could see that he was enjoying himself just as much as I was.

_My god, that smile..._

No more than a minute later, Isaac froze. He'd caught the scent of something. I could smell it, too. Instantly, there were a million voices screaming in my head at once. _Go there, now! Feed! The THIRST!_ _Find it! Kill it! _Crouching down, I let my sense take other. Taking slow, steady breaths, I let the scent of blood lead me to its source. One more slight breeze in my direction, and I'd have it.

Suddenly, Isaac was gone. He'd caught wind of the blood source before me, and left to feed. A part of me wanted to chase after him, to get there before him. _I_ wanted the blood. It should be _mine_. These thoughts horrified me.

I looked around at the others, begging for some form of guidance. Isaac wasn't my competition, and I shouldn't be thinking of him as such.

Edward lifted his hand and pointed of into the distance, opposite of where Isaac had fled. I refocused, turned, and tasted the air in that direction. It was faint, but there was definitely something there. _Move closer. __Y__ou need it!_ The voices were returning. Pushing them back once more, I zeroed in on where the scent was coming from.

_ There! Go!_

No longer resisting the voices, I ran towards the smell. It got stronger with each passing second, until I finally found it. Black bears. Three of them: a mother and her two cubs. One of the cubs was sleeping, with the other being bathed, cleaned, and generally fussed at by its mother. The smell of their blood hit me with the force of a truck, and I couldn't wait another second. I rushed all three of them, not bothering to be quiet or strategic with my approach. There wasn't a thing they could do to me.

Mother bear went first. I wrapped my arms around her neck and pulled her away from her cub. She had to weigh several hundred pounds at least, but lifting her entirely of the ground was effortless. Immediately, she started lashing at me with her paws, but it was a futile action. It actually felt as if she was hugging me, as her claws had no effect against my crystalline skin. Ignoring her struggling and the wails of her cubs, I located the largest blood vessel in her neck, and sank my teeth into it. I was suddenly reminded that we didn't come equipped with fangs; this was going to get messy. Breaking the skin caused an entire chunk of flesh to be pulled away with the initial bite, making the bear's blood gush out in torrents. Not a drop of it went to waste.

Right away, I noticed everything becoming even _clearer_. The haze that had been brought on by the thirst was lifted as I drank, along with the voices. The taste felt...off, somehow. I was surprised that it actually tasted _good_ to a certain extent, but it still felt as if something was missing.

_It's not human, and you know it. This is just a poor substitute._

Of course I knew it. I hadn't even tasted human blood (and hopefully never would), but a part of me knew that animals would never fully stack up.

And these voices. These goddamned voices. Did all vampires experience something similar when they needed to feed?

After finishing with mom, I then diverted my attention to her cubs. They'd both taken off, running side-by-side. I chased after them, and drained them both as well. The mother hadn't completely slaked my thirst.

I finished with the bears and then made my way back to the Cullens, who were still standing exactly where I left them. If they had bothered hunting, they were all faster and cleaner than I was. Even Bella, who was only a month old, had only a few dots of red on one of her sleeves. My clothes-or rather, what was left of them-were soaked in blood.

"How do you guys do it?" I asked no one in particular, referring to their non-messy clothes.

Bella piped up. "It's just one of those things that takes practice. I ended up practically naked after my first hunt. Isn't that right, Edward?"

If vampires could blush, he'd be flushed to hell and back. Edward stood there, almost _vibrating_ in place, and only let out a small nod as an answer to Bella's question. She didn't relent in her teasing, and even Emmett joined in. I was enjoying their banter, until Isaac's scent caught my attention. He had finished, and was on his way back.

I met him halfway, and jumped onto him at full speed. We fell to the ground, with a sound that resembled pieces of metal being scraped together. Not particularly romantic, but we made due.

"So, what did you find, babe? I smelled a couple of elks, and that's why I darted off..." Isaac started, looking slightly guilty that he'd left me behind.

"Oh, I found an entire family of black bears, so it's all good. Just wish I could have found the father. I mean, really, who leaves their wife and kids out in the forest alone like that? Goddamn deadbeat," I said. He laughed in response. Making incredibly lame jokes seemed to still be my forte, and this revelation made me that much more hopeful. Still the same Chris. Still the same Isaac. Plus a few added superpowers.

We stood up, ready to head back home with the others, when something in my peripheral commanded my attention. It was a single ray of sunlight, poking through the trees. We'd been out here most of the night, and the sun was starting to rise.

_The sun._

Panic began to set in, when I remembered something that Alice had told me a while back: Sunlight can't kill us_ directly_. But that still begged the obvious question: What was the _indirect_ result of sun exposure? Would it give us some vampire-exclusive disease that would whittle away at us over time? Maybe it kicked out thirst into overdrive, destroying any sort of self-control we might have. Perhaps it transformed us into horrific bat-like monsters, making it impossible to go out in public ever again...

Not taking any chances, we hurried back to our group, taking special care not to let any sunlight touch our skin. Emmett took notice of our concern right away; we could have made a dance of the movements we used to avoid the light. He was doubled over, laughing. Even Jasper was trying his damnedest to hold back a chuckle.

Bella, proving once again to be very helpful, took the initiative by stepping out into the patch of sunlight in front of her.

She glowed. Or sparkled, rather. It looked as if she had millions of tiny diamond fragments embedded in her skin, and the light from the sun made them all twinkle brilliantly. Isaac and I were both in awe. Taking this display as a sign that we were in the clear, the two of us stepped out from the shade. Just like Bella, we shined. It wasn't accompanied by any particular sensation (I'd lost all perception of cold or warmth after turning; everything just felt "fine"), but there was still a pleasant _feeling_ there. This wasn't harmful at all, and I felt a bit silly for jumping to conclusions about diseases and bat monsters. It was a _good_ thing.

However, I could also see why we'd need to keep this a secret. While not automatically indicative of vampires, sparkling in the sunlight would certainly spark some unwanted interest. Someone would feel inclined to investigate, poke around, ask one too many questions. And the Volturi would eventually have to intervene...

Yes, this was something we'd need to be careful about. This was probably why the Cullens chose to live in Forks. The town wasn't exactly known for its consistently sunny weather.

Edward broke the silence. "We should get back. Renesmee will be waking up soon, I think."

And with that, we were running again. Enjoying the freedom, the speed, the feeling of the glow on our skin. The sunlight was much more prevalent now, so there was no escaping it. Edward was on the lookout for any campers, hunters or travelers, so that Isaac and I's blood lust wouldn't be tested any more than it already was. We had to stop a second time to hunt before returning to the Cullen house.

Once we made it back, we made preparations. The Volturi would be here in about two weeks.

* * *

The Cullens spent the next two weeks teaching us how to fight. At my request, mainly. Regardless of whether or not we decided to attack the Volturi at the upcoming meeting, I thought it prudent to at least learn how to defend ourselves.

We sparred a little with all of the Cullens, save for Renesmee. Bella was considered one of the "trainees" along with Isaac and I, as she hadn't had much combat training before now. She was gifted with a mental "shield"of sorts, making her immune to any mental-based powers other vampires had. They had made attempts to expand her shield, making it so that she could project it onto others, but with limited success thus far.

Emmett showed us how to properly utilize our strength. He was the strongest vampire next to the three newborns (Bella, Isaac and myself), and had the most raw power. Utilizing the environment (uprooting trees, throwing boulders), getting the upper hand when grappling with your opponent, and letting your instincts take over. In a combat situation, instinct was the best survival tool you could have.

Edward surprised us by showing us that he was the fastest Cullen, by far. He focused on precision as opposed to brute strength. If there wasn't a need to, he wouldn't fight. In that same line of thought, he advised us that it might sometimes be wise to escape instead of fight. We held races every day, honing our agility, reaction time, and path-finding skills. If we were being chased, what would be the best route to take? How could we best evade out pursuer?

Jasper seemed to be the most strategic, explaining to us that we should focus on dismembering our opponent as soon as possible. Rip off their arms, legs, head, anything that will slow them down or put them out of commission. He was a fierce fighter, and there was a lot to be learned from watching him. None of us were able to best him.

We paired off, with Isaac and I half-fighting each other. Neither of us actually dismembered or hurt the other, but we didn't hold back in terms of strength and speed. Bella was working on her shield, while Edward acted as the "assailant". He would try to read someone's mind and Bella would try to project her shield onto that person, preventing Edward from reading them. I wasn't sure how much progress she was making. Her shield would certainly help against the Volturi, assuming that Jane and Alec's powers both worked on a mental level.

To my surprise, Jasper was the one who led our training sessions. I had expected it to be Emmett because of his strength, but I learned that Jasper was the one with the most combat experience. Edward read my confusion on the matter, and towards the end of our two week training period he referred me to Alice.

"Jasper had been a part of the military when he was human, so he's had combat training even before he was turned," she began.

"And when _was_ he turned?" I asked, suddenly curious of Jasper's age.

Alice did her face-scrunch again, which I found odd. She couldn't have trouble remembering something as significant as her husband's age. Even after only two days of being a vampire, I knew that we had absolutely perfect recall.

"The mid 1800's. Born in 1844, turned in 1863," she finally said. "He was turned by someone named Maria, who used him as a soldier in her army."

"Wait, _army_? This woman created multiple vampires? Why?"

"Oh, yes. There was a pretty intense power struggle at the time. Maria was one of many vampires raising armies of newborns for their strength. The Volturi eventually stepped in when the human body count got out of hand, so the covens needed to keep their newborns under control. Usually, when a newborn lost their boosted strength and had no special uses or abilities, they were disposed of. Nothing more than a liability at that point," Alice explained. She paused for a second before finishing. "Jasper was given that duty quite often..."

Vampire wars? Even considering all that I'd experienced within the last two months, this was a genuine shock. Jasper had been used by some warlord as a tool to gain power. That lifestyle must have affected him in many ways: frequent fighting, all-human diet, having to kill so many new vampires. I couldn't imagine how he was able to make the transition to this life at all.

Alice continued. "He had friends, Peter and Charlotte, who told him how life for vampires was more peaceful farther north, so he left with them. That was in 1938," she was beaming now. "He met me ten years later. I started seeing him in my visions when he made the decision to come up north. One day, I just saw a diner, and I knew that's where he'd come. So I went there, sat down, and waited for nine hours. The diner was about to close, but he eventually walked in. I knew the millisecond I laid eyes on him that he was the one, so I grabbed his hand, made it clear that I was _not_ to be kept waiting, and that was that. We met up with the Cullens about two years later."

I had to smile as she finished her story. The way she looked and sounded when describing her meeting Jasper for the first time was heartwarming, and it made me much more sympathetic to Jasper's plight. I hadn't yet been exposed to the smell-much less the _taste_- of human blood, so I had no idea how well I would do under similar circumstances.

The pleasant moment between us was ended when Alice suddenly straightened up, eyes wide open, and said, "They're here."

She had only whispered it, but everyone inside the house could hear it, and everyone knew what she meant. The Volturi had arrived.


	7. Walk

"How long do we have?" Isaac's voice came from upstairs. He'd been enjoying the enormous library located in Carlisle's room. Trying to get a head-start on what would hopefully be an eternity of education and discovery, I bet.

"About three hours. They just crossed over into Washington," Alice replied.

In all honesty, there wasn't much left to do. We were going to meet the Volturi group in a clearing that the Cullens frequented. It was pretty far off the beaten path, so there was little danger of humans stumbling into the middle of things. Bella and Edward took Renesmee to stay with Bella's father, Charlie, for the day. They fully expected to come home, but had a contingency in place when it came to their daughter.

As they drove off to Charlie's, I was suddenly reminded that I had a family, too. A _human_ family. Parents that had conceived, birthed and raised me. A brother that I grew up with, played with, fought and argued with. These were people I'd known since the day I was born, and I'd _forgotten_ about them. I'd forgotten a lot of my human life, it seemed. Even recent events like the plane ride to Seattle were extremely blurry, and important things (like family) needed to be triggered. If it was still physically possible for me to shed tears, I would. It seemed like an eternity since I'd seen them or spoken to them, when in reality it had only been about three weeks since our last visit. They didn't usually make a huge fuss when they didn't see us for this long; we all lead separate lives, and constant visits just weren't feasible.

I located my phone, and dialed my mother. While it rang, I noticed that there were three missed calls, but they all came from my place of work. It was a pretty safe assumption that Isaac and I were both jobless at this point, which didn't bother me terribly. As new additions to their family, the Cullens had made it painfully obvious that we were not to bothered with financial concerns. We'd given them our landlord's contact information, and they made sure that the rent for our apartment was taken care of. I'd made it clear that we were both planning on returning home eventually.

"Hello?" my mother finally picked up,

Her voice shocked me at first. Had she always sounded this small? This frail? This _slow_? I thought that perhaps she was on the verge of tears, but I quickly realized that wasn't the case. My hearing was far more acute than it had been when I last heard her voice, and all the subtle dips and fluctuations in volume and tone were glaringly obvious to me. My mother wasn't sick or unnerved. This was how _all_ humans were going to sound to me.

Adjusting my own voice to make it sound convincing-more _human-_I answered. "Hey, mom, It's Chris. How have you been?"

We made small talk for the next few minutes. Mom brought me up to speed on everyone else in the immediate family; I lied and told her that everything was fine on my end. She asked when we would be visiting again; I told her that I'd get back to her when we both had an opening in our schedules. When all that was done, we said our goodbyes and hung up. I still hadn't made up my mind about this meeting yet, but I was glad to be able to hear her voice before this meeting happened.

"Isaac!" I yelled. "Call your mother. Better safe than sorry, you know?"

He yelped in response, indicating that the existence of mortal family members had also slipped his mind. "Augh, that's right! Thanks for the reminder!"

Isaac dialed his mother, and I sat and waited. We were set to head out to the field once Bella and Edward returned from Charlie's. There was nothing else to do now but wait.

* * *

It was raining by the time we made it to the field.

Alice had made sure that we would arrive before the Volturi. This way, we could iron out any last minute details and go into this meeting fully prepared. I suddenly realized that I'd never gotten Isaac's opinion on the matter. How could I make a decision this momentous and simply _forget_ that it affects him, too? Wracked with guilt, I scooted a little closer to him.

"So, babe, what do you think? You and I haven't talked about this much and now seems as good a time as any."

He wrapped his right arm around my shoulders and leaned in to plant a kiss on my forehead. "Well, have you made a decision yet? You know I'm behind you either way."

"Not really the answer I was looking for," I sighed. I had hoped for a little more input than that. "I mean, do you _think_ we should start a fight today? It'd be nice to have _your_ opinion, Isaac."

"Ah, you're right, you're right," he said. "Let's see...we have this group outnumbered and outmatched into terms of strength, so I think it'll go in our favor if we _do_ attack. However, we haven't even met this Aro guy yet, so we don't really have a valid reason as to _why_ we should attack."

"Right. And there lies the problem," I agreed.

"So I'll repeat what I said earlier: If you happen to come up with a decision, I'll support you on it. Chances are we'll come to the same conclusion, anyway."

That's all there was to it, then. One of us would make a choice on the fly, and the other would be sure to support it. Now, what about the Cullens? They had made it known that they trusted our judgment in the matter, but it simply didn't feel right knowing that our decision could negatively affect them. While debating on whether or not to bring this up with Carlisle, the sound of footsteps was brought to my attention.

The Volturi group appeared from the treeline, and I had to fight the urge to laugh. Their outfits belonged in a different century. They were all dressed in ridiculous hooded robes of varying shades of black and gray. How they made it here from Italy without attracting attention is beyond me; this kind of uniform was _not_ conducive to maintaining secrecy.

As they moved closer, a man in the front-whom I assumed was Aro-smiled. Aro looked like he was frozen in his mid-20's, and was about as tall as Isaac. He had straight, black hair that went down to the middle of his back. What stood out the most about Aro was his air of antiquity: even without knowing who he was, you could tell right away that he was an extremely old vampire. The skin on his face was somehow even paler and more translucent than all the other vampires in attendance, so much so that I could almost see the shape of his teeth through his cheeks_. _His eyes were the red I'd come to expect, but they were clouded over. I thought for a second that he might be blind, but his eyes were darting rapidly from person to person with an awareness that indicated otherwise. Aged appearance aside, he was quite handsome.

"Carlisle, it really has been far too long," Aro greeted warmly. He embraced Carlisle and then turned to Bella. While he fawned over her newborn status, I glanced over at the rest of the Volturi contingent. I spotted Renata right away, the only female in the group, standing less than a foot behind Aro. She was very short (I figured I was at _least_ a foot taller than her), and her hair practically matched Aro's in length and color. Renata just stood there with an indifferent expression on her face, not even attempting to look past Aro at the Cullens.

Felix and Demetri were standing side by side. Both of them were taller than me, with Felix towering over everyone else here. Felix had short black hair and was every bit as built as Emmett. "Intimidating" didn't even begin to describe this man. I wondered for a moment who would win in a fight between the two of them, but pushed the thought from my mind. Better not jinx anything.

Demetri stood with his hands folded in front of him, looking quite professional. He had the same olive complexion as Felix, with black hair that went down to his shoulders (I was beginning to think that black hair was a criterion for joining the Volturi). I noticed that he kept glancing over at Isaac and I, apparently the only one who had taken notice of us.

Afton, along with the two other nameless guards, stood off to the side. He looked nervous and kept fidgeting with a button on his robe, which I found odd. How nervous did a vampire have to be to do something so human as _fidget_?

"Ah, two new additions to your ever-growing family, Carlisle?" Aro asked, diverting my attention away from the rest of the group. He was staring right at the two of us.

Carlisle looked slightly nervous as he answered. "Yes, this is Ch-"

"Christian Michaels. Nice to meet you, Aro," I interrupted. "This is my mate, Isaac Turner."

"How delightful. Do you mind telling me how the two of you came to meet the Cullens, child?"

Thankfully, I'd been prepared to pull something like this out of my ass. "Absolutely. First off, Isaac and I were on vac-"

Now it was Aro's turn to interrupt me. "On second thought, I think I'd like to get the _full_ story for myself."

Alice's eyes widened in shock, and I knew immediately what was happening. Aro was going to read us, see the conversations we'd had with the Cullens about overthrowing him, and have us destroyed. He had made our decision for us.

He removed the gloves from his hands, and beckoned Isaac and I forward. "If you wouldn't mind, this would be much simpler."

_No, I don't think it would. I think you're going to regret this._

* * *

I wasn't panicking. As I took my first step towards Aro, I relayed as much info to Edward as I possibly could, trusting that he was reading my thoughts intently. Alice had to know what would happen now that Aro had made up his mind. I trusted that she would know what to do now that I'd made up mine.

_I'll take care of Aro_. _Isaac __will probably__ go for Renata. Do what you can. Protect your family._

The rest of the Cullens slowly passed by in my periphery. I couldn't let them die here. None of them should have to die or lose a loved one because of a war that _I'm_ about to start. Before reaching Aro, I glanced over at Isaac. He was wearing a hilariously awkward half-smile, and all my nerves melted away.

Trust.

Placing my own hand inside Aro's, I made direct eye contact and held it. I was able to follow along with him as he read me. He started at the beginning of my human life, which surprised me. Things I had no recollection of were being dug up. Aro neared the memory of my first meeting with Jasper and Alice, and I braced myself. When he reached our conversation in the hospital, all the pleasantness in his face disappeared.

And that was all I needed. That one moment of hesitation. One millisecond of disbelief.

I reached up with my free hand, took hold of his head, and ripped it off of his shoulders.


	8. Run

Renata's face came into view as I pulled Aro's head away. Her eyes widened to the point that I thought they would pop out of their sockets.

"_Master!_" she screamed, catching Aro's limp body as it slumped to the ground.

At that same moment, she _pushed_ Isaac and I a few yards back without lifting a finger. She must have activated her shield, which meant that we couldn't touch her now. Renata just sat there, cradling Aro's body and glaring murderously at us.

There was no time to worry about her. The rest of the guard members were already retaliating. Felix barreled straight for Isaac and I. Demetri tried to follow him, but was intercepted by Edward. Isaac threw himself in front of me, intent on taking the brunt of Felix's charge. I was still holding Aro's head, so I lobbed it at over Isaac's shoulder towards Felix. It broke into several pieces on Felix's chest, but did nothing to slow him down. Isaac lunged forward to meet him, ducking low at the last second to try and take out his legs. Felix saw through this, however, and placed his foot on Isaac's lowered back, vaulting himself forward.

He landed right in front of me, and I swung at him. He managed to catch my fist, but I had the edge in terms of strength. I threw my weight into him and pushed him back. Isaac appeared behind him and wrapped his arms around Felix's torso, trapping him. Felix still had my fist in his hand. Instead of trying to wrestle it free, I grabbed his arm with my other hand and pulled. I wouldn't have to apply much force before-

Demetri suddenly appeared at my side and brought his hand down in a clean swipe, severing both my arms.

I was engulfed in a pain that I never thought I'd have to experience again: the burning of my transformation. It felt as if I was on fire yet again. I was dazed, and I could see bright lights all around me. Falling to my knees, I felt Demetri's hands wrap around my head. One simple twist and pull, and it would be all over.

"_NO!"_ Isaac roared. Even through the painful haze, his voice rang clear.

Edward sped past Isaac and Felix, ramming himself into Demetri. Having been released, I fell to the ground. Isaac tightened his grip on Felix's waist, squeezing him until he snapped in half. He tossed Felix away and dropped down by my side, grabbing my arms and frantically trying to reattach them. His voice quivered with panic as he spoke-an attempt at keeping me focused on him and not on the pain.

"Chris! _Chris!_ I'll have these back on in just a second. Just...try and sit up for me, could you?"

As he applied venom to each of my arms, I sat up and scanned the clearing for the rest of the Cullens. This wasn't much of a battlefield. Not anymore, at least. Felix was in two halves behind Isaac, and Demetri had been decapitated by Edward. The two nameless vampires were also in pieces, with Carlisle, Jasper and Esme standing near the pile. Alice, Bella, Emmett, and Rosalie were circling Renata, just outside the range of her shield. She was still holding onto Aro's body. Afton was nowhere in sight.

Trying to focus on any particular person was difficult. Something kept creeping into my vision, commanding my attention away from what I'd been originally looking at. I tried to ignore it at first, but it was persistent. It would linger in the corner of my eye, urging me to turn my head in its direction.

Lights. What I had originally dismissed as random spots brought on by my dazed state turned out to be something more. They didn't move with my eyes; the lights hovered along their own independent courses. Each person had one circling them, it seemed. Their own individual light.

The lights were speaking to me, urging me toward them. Each one of them wanted my attention as badly as the next. I turned towards Renata, who was still hiding behind her shield. Her light was practically screaming at me in desperation. Without thinking, without questioning, I gave myself over to her light. Everything went dark.

What I saw when the darkness ended made no sense. I was looking out at everyone once more, with the only difference being the fact that Renata was no longer in sight. Instead, I was looking at..._myself_. From somewhere outside of my own body, I watched Isaac tend to my limp form. My body was slumped over and non-moving; it looked as if I was dead. Isaac's eyes grew wide with worry.

I looked down and saw Aro's headless body in my arms. Alice, Bella, Emmet and Rosalie were standing around me. It didn't take long before I put the pieces together and figured out that I was somehow in Renata's body.

* * *

"Why isn't he moving? How is this even possible?!"

Isaac's voice drew my gaze back to him. He was shaking my body, frantically trying to elicit some sort of response. I wanted to call out to him and tell him that I was alright, but I couldn't bring myself to speak in Renata's body. It felt as if she was resisting me, fighting and preventing me from controlling all of her actions. To her, I was an invader. A parasite.

"I...I don't know what's happening. I can't read him at all," Edward said, kneeling beside Isaac. "He shouldn't be unresponsive like this."

A sudden movement caught my attention. Something behind Isaac. There was a visible distortion in the air, but I couldn't make out anything specific. I kept my eyes on it, watching as it inched closer and closer to Isaac. Once it reached him, Isaac's head was jerked back violently. Whatever was behind him was trying to tear him apart.

Immediately, I took complete control of Renata's body. Whatever part of her consciousness that had been resisting me was pushed back effortlessly as I sped forward. Past Alice, Bella, Emmett and Rosalie, and straight towards Isaac's attacker. I crashed into it at full speed, sending us both several yards away. It struggled with me, but I was able to see it clearly now. Afton was staring up at me in shock.

"Ren, what the hell are you doing?! It's _me! _I had th-"

He was cut off as I brought my fist down on his head, crushing his jaw. His head came off soon after, as well. That left the rest of the Volturi group accounted for, with the only exception being Renata. Would she be back to normal when I returned to my own body? Hell, _would_ I even be able to return to my own body, or was I stuck like this? I didn't want to try to explain this to Isaac or the Cullens, all of whom were staring at me with no small amount of confusion. Hearing Renata claim to be on their side would only make things worse.

Renata needed to be dealt with first. Even after hijacking her body's movement, her mind was still present as an annoying little spot in the back of my head. If I crushed this last little piece of her, she would be gone. Just a mindless shell.

I pushed against her remaining self, hard. Given that I was already intent on killing her, letting her fade away slowly seemed especially cruel. In no time at all, she was completely gone.

When that was done, I looked around and noticed that I could still see the lights circling everyone else. I located mine, and tried to remember how I moved from my body to Renata's in the first place. The transfer was almost instantaneous this time; I was back in my own body. Both of my arms were reattached, and the pain was gone. Isaac's face hovered over mine. I pulled it closer, touching my lips to his.

All too soon, he pulled away. "Chris, what the hell was that? You had me going crazy for a second."

"I honestly don't know," I answered while sitting up. Looking around, I noticed that the lights were gone. "After Demetri hurt me, there were these _lights_ everywhere. I looked over at one near Renata and just...went into it. Next thing I knew, I was in her body. No idea why or how it happened."

"Fascinating. It could be that you have an ability, with this being your first time activating it," Carlisle said, having moved closer to us along with the rest of the Cullens. All except Rosalie, who was standing over Afton's body. She was holding something in her hand. A lighter.

"Rose," I started, "maybe we should wait before we-"

She wasn't listening. Flipping the spark wheel, she touched the flame of the lighter to Afton's hand. The fire spread across his body with frightening speed, practically unaffected by the persisting rain. Thick gray smoke rose into the air. The venom in our system must be what causes such a violent reaction.

Rosalie turned to me with a curious look on her face. "What was that, Chris? Did you just suggest that we _wait_ to kill them after having already broken them up? It's a little too late to be getting cold feet."

"Rosalie, it's not like I had much of a choice. Aro would have seen what we were planning either way; I simply took advantage of the situation. Besides, wouldn't it be better if we kept the rest of them alive for questioning? I know we'd have to kill them eventually, but..."

"We've got time," Alice picked up where I'd trailed off. "Chelsea felt Afton fade, and she's causing a bit of a fuss. Even if a group were to leave right now, it would take about two days for them to get here.

"Granted," she continued, glancing over at Rosalie, "we'd have a little _more_ time if Rose hadn't burned Afton."

Rosalie shrugged. "They threaten my family, they die."

I had to give her that one.

* * *

We carried them back to the house in pieces, making sure that none of them were able to reform until we wanted them to. They'd each be put back together one at a time, questioned, and then dealt with afterwards. _How_ they'd be dealt with was still up in the air. Afton's ashes were buried in the woods. No one needed to stumble across those.

After making it back to the Cullen house, we started putting Felix back together. He was only in three pieces, but his lower half and head took their time stitching themselves back to his torso. My thoughts turned to Chelsea as we waited. She specialized in feeling and molding relationships, so Afton's death must have been infinitely more painful for her than it should have been. Without a doubt, she knew that he had been in a group charged with going to see the Cullens, and she'll definitely seek us out. When she finds us and realizes that we caused his death, she'll have no problem returning the favor. That could _not _happen.

I didn't blame her. Her mate was gone and she was sure to want revenge, but I couldn't let her hurt Isaac. No one could hurt him.


End file.
